Impressive advance of the Netherlands on the coefficient list seems unstoppable | football
For years it has been dreamed of a place in the top six, which entitles the Netherlands to two direct tickets for the Champions League. France (fifth) and Portugal (sixth) feel the breath of Dutch football more in the neck.
To clarify: UEFA’s coefficient ranking determines which countries with how many clubs are allowed to participate in European competitions. For every point won in the Champions League, Europa League or Conference League, countries receive coefficient points. The sum of those points from the last five seasons then produces a coefficient ranking. At the moment, England leads the list supremely and the Netherlands is in seventh place.
The full top fifteen currently looks like this:
1. England (91,212 points)
2. Spain (82,855)
3. Italy (66,188)
4. Germany (64,213)
5. France (46,748)
6. Portugal (45,882)
7. Netherlands (36,900)
8. Austria (32,850)
9. Scotland (31,700)
10. Russia (31,682)
11. Ukraine (30,600)
12. Serbia (28,875)
13. Belgium (28,000)
14. Switzerland (26,925)
15. Croatia (24,900)
Yorbe Vertessen, PSV player
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Prime in 2021-2022
At the moment, the gap between the Netherlands and number six Portugal is still very large, but everything changes when the points for the 2017-2018 season disappear. During that season, the Netherlands performed very poorly and could only collect 2,800 points. For comparison: this season, the five Dutch clubs in Europe (Ajax, PSV, Feyenoord, Vitesse and AZ) have already collected 6,800 points. No country does better.
This season, the Netherlands allows greats such as England and Spain, but that also has to do with the European rounds that the Dutch clubs finish for. It’s still impressive.
Feyenoord also achieved many points in Europe.
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Standings for the 2021-2022 season:
1. The Netherlands (6,800 points)
2. England (5,571)
3. Portugal (5,416)
4. Germany (5,214)
5. Spain (5,142)
Dismissal 2017-2018 disaster season
Next year, that last season will expire and the Netherlands will make a glorious catch-up against France and Portugal. From 8.9 points behind in second place, still 1.2 points behind France.
The virtual standings after the end of the 2017-2018 season:
1. England (71,141 points)
2. Spain (63,141)
3. Germany (54,356)
4. Italy (48,855)
5. Portugal (36,216)
6. France (35,248)
7. Netherlands (34,000)
8. Scotland (27.300)
9. Belgium (25,400)
10. Austria (23,100)
Still many possibilities
The progress of the Netherlands on the ranking is still in full swing, because all five Dutch clubs are still in the running for a European winter. With their 9 points from 3 matches, it looks particularly rosy for Ajax to advance in the Champions League and PSV are in the lead in group B of the Europa League with 4 points from 2 matches.
As if all that were not enough, the Dutch also do not have three clubs that are active in the Conference League. The advantage of this competition: the level is lower, but you can earn points for the coefficient. Feyenoord and AZ are in the lead of their group with 4 points from 2 matches, Vitesse is third with 3 points from 2 matches. There is no doubt that they too can and will pick up some points this season.
Patrick Vroegh and Sondre Tronstad from Vitesse
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Most productive season ever?
The Netherlands is well on its way to having the most productive season ever in Europe. If ‘we’ continue like this, the Netherlands will have opportunities to sneak into the top six in one of the following years. That would allow both the national champion and the vice champion of the Eredivisie to participate directly in the group stage of the Champions League.
Source: The newspapaer